Resident Evil Village throws players into a gauntlet of harrowing circumstances, not least of which are battles against the game’s Four Lords. These include Karl Heisenberg, Salvatore Moreau, Donna Beneviento, and internet sensation Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, each of which represents one of the ruling houses of the game’s titular village. But what makes these four lieutenants of Mother Miranda the monstrous beings that they are?
[WARNING: Spoilers for Resident Evil Village below]
Mother Miranda, revealed to be one of the great catalysts behind the Resident Evil franchise’s many terrible events, is directly responsible for the infection of the Four Lords, though the game is much more cagey as to how the process actually works. It’s known that the four responded particularly well to infection by the Cadou parasite where many did not, thus being chosen as Miranda’s most important servants. But exactly what processes turn them from human beings to something else is one of Resident Evil Village’s many mysteries, not all of which are given answers by the time the credits run.
Resident Evil Village's Miranda is herself a tragic figure, and the death of her daughter drove her to such extreme grief she would do anything to get her back. In the throes of that sorrow, she stumbled upon the Megamycete, a type of fungal root growing beneath the village, from which she first received the infection. This entity then used her as its avatar in the human world above, and she began spreading its influence both via a system of religious belief (calling herself a prophet of what she termed the “Black God”) and physically through experimentation with mold. This key substance, originally infecting characters in Resident Evil 7, is a substance linked to the Megamycete and the Cadou parasite that Mother Miranda would later create.
Resident Evil Village’s Cadou Parasite Made Its Monsters
The parasite is what ultimately portends the village’s destruction and the transformation of its populace before Resident Evil Village's sotry begins. The Megamycete’s influence was more effectively spread throughout the people of the village with Miranda’s help, but its effect on people was far from static, as can be seen in the wide variety of different ways it managed to express itself. Where some people reacted badly and became Resident Evil Village’s iconic, animalistic Lycans, disturbing winged Samca, or undead-like Moroaica, the Four Lords themselves retained more of their humanity.
It’s difficult to determine how these infections were carried out, and how different approaches might have affected their development into the monstrous creatures that attack Ethan in his latest adventure, but the Four Lords themselves make it clear that it’s a dynamic process: none of the four of them display similar reactions to the parasite. Each of them is considerably more sane than the average infected person, with at least somewhat more control over themselves, but Lady Dimitrescu’s monstrous form is entirely different from the psychic consciousness-fusing that happened to Donna Beneviento and her doll, just as the fishy Moreau’s water-oriented powers and Heisenberg’s metal-slinging abilities don’t bear much resemblance to those of their siblings.
Even the psychological and emotional reactions seem to have played out differently. While Lady Dimitrescu desires Miranda’s affection, seeking always to please her, Heisenberg distances himself from the entire group, harboring a deep resentment that plays out over the course of Resident Evil Village’s story. Ultimately, there is still plenty of room for speculation over just what makes the Cadou infection look so different in different hosts, and it may be that more will be revealed in future Resident Evil titles. For now, fans can continue to battle the Four Lords and their monstrous mother in this latest installment of the franchise, as Resident Evil Village’s popularity shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.